A variety of new potentially psychopharmacologically active compounds will be prepared and subjected to intensive biological testing. These compounds will be the methano-bridged derivatives of existing potent psychoactive compounds that play an important role in mental health. The preparation of methano-bridged derivatives of biologically active substances is a new and unique approach to studying the role of the parent compound at the active site. The structural modification which is made upon methano-bridging is well understood and this knowledge permits one to make powerful correlations between changes in biological activity and changes in structure of the aromatic portions of the active molecules. The procedures used are those of organic synthesis of new compounds and involve the study of dissolving metal reduction reactions upon heteroaromatic compounds, the formation of cyclopropane rings in specific places on the heterocyclic systems, the development of benzocyclopropene chemistry as applied to organic synthesis, the application of recently discovered reactions to new molecules and the conquering of the basic problems one encounters when dealing with the preparation of molecules which have never been seen before. This research has powerful long-range potential in the general area of pharmacology of molecules which contain aromatic moieties and this $ extends to the realm of amino acids, enzymes and proteins which contain in particular the potentially methano bridgeable tryptophan molecule.